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Hyperspectral Imager-Tracker

Saturday, 01 June 2013

The Hyperspectral Imager-Tracker
(HIT) is a technique for visualization
and tracking of low-contrast, fast-moving
objects. The HIT architecture is based
on an innovative and only recently developed
concept in imaging optics. This
innovative architecture will give the
Light Prescriptions Innovators (LPI)
HIT the possibility of simultaneously collecting
the spectral band images (hyperspectral
cube), IR images, and to operate
with high-light-gathering power and high
magnification for multiple fast- moving
objects. Adaptive Spectral Filtering algorithms
will efficiently increase the contrast
of low-contrast scenes.

The most hazardous parts of a space mission
are the first stage of a launch and the
last 10 kilometers of the landing trajectory.
In general, a close watch on spacecraft
operation is required at distances up to 70
km. Tracking at such distances is usually
associated with the use of radar, but its milliradian
angular resolution translates to
100-m spatial resolution at 70-km distance.
With sufficient power, radar can track a
spacecraft as a whole object, but will not
provide detail in the case of an accident,
particularly for small debris in the onemeter
range, which can only be achieved
optically. It will be important to track the
debris, which could disintegrate further
into more debris, all the way to the ground.
Such fragmentation could cause ballistic
predictions, based on observations using
high-resolution but narrow-field optics for
only the first few seconds of the event, to be
inaccurate. No optical imager architecture
exists to satisfy NASA requirements.

The HIT was developed for space vehicle
tracking, in-flight inspection, and in
the case of an accident, a detailed recording
of the event. The system is a combination
of five subsystems: (1) a “roving
fovea” telescope with a wide 30° field of
regard; (2) narrow, high-resolution
“fovea” field optics; (3) a “Coude” optics
system for telescope output beam stabilization;
(4) a hyperspectral-muti spectral
imaging assembly; and (5) image analysis
software with effective adaptive spectral
filtering algorithm for real-time contrast
enhancement.

This work was done by Ilya Agurok of
Prescriptions Innovators, LLC for Kennedy
Space Center. KSC-13234

This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).

Hyperspectral Imager-Tracker (reference KSC-13234) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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